Shambles
by uniform beautiful
Summary: The story of Toph and Sokka, takes place after the war. Will Toph be able to make it through this, or will it all break down to shambles?
1. Prologue

Okay, this story…After a year, and like a million changes, I'm finally going to start putting this up.

* * *

**Shambles**

"_I'm losing my mind, and I can't do this by myself."_

PROLOGUE

Toph stood before a mirror staring blindly at her reflection. Her glossy black hair hung in thick curls, and a beautiful blue gown flowed around her. Beneath her meticulously-worked hair, a traditional Water Tribe engagement necklace wrapped itself around her neck. Her face was painted with nerves.

"Oh Toph!" Katara gushed, walking around her with a hot iron in hand. "You look so gorgeous!"

"I'm sure I do..." Toph said with a gulp. She placed a hand on her stomach and made a sick expression. "I don't look...you know."

"Of course not. And Sokka doesn't care, anyway. Oh, my mother's dress fits you so well now that we trimmed the bottom!" Katara said. Toph hadn't grown more than an inch or so since she was twelve, and when the dress had first been put on there was a good extra two feet of material at the bottom.

"I can't believe I'm getting married," Toph said with a nervous laugh as she twisted her clammy hands together.

* * *

**Side note:** This story is rated T, but it does include a part that would make it rated M. I have taken this part out (basically, fade to black). HOWEVER! I will be posting it as a separate thing. So, if you want to read a lemon, I will alert you of when I post this--it should come up when it would in the actual story, because I don't want to confuse anyone. But if you are a person who just doesn't want to read that sort of thing, ignore it. It will not take away from the story-reading experience.

---Uniform Beautiful.


	2. Chapter One: Beginnings

CHAPTER ONE: Beginnings

The small city of Emling lay over fifty miles south of her estate, but it wasn't enough distance for no one to know Toph Bei Fong. It hadn't been long after the war when she decided to move there to attend their little university, and people had immediately regarded her as a celebrity. It didn't take long, however, for her to convince them to treat her like anyone else. She got a humble job teaching earthbending, lived in a humble little apartment, and wore humble clothes, just like everyone else inhabiting the city. After a few months, Toph Bei Fong was no longer the talk of the town.

The reason for Toph's moving was probably the most unknown part about her life to the people of Emling. They could not figure out why she would leave her sprawling estate, her well-bred family, and limitless connections to live among the farm-folk. This was a question she did not answer, not to anyone.

It had been the fight of the century--really--and that included Aang's squabble with the Fire Lord. She had been young and fourteen and stupid. And in love, cliché as it sounded.

Just a few months after the war ended, Aang turned thirteen. Or a hundred thirteen. Something like that. A big party was held at the Fire Nation palace, and big meaning you-can't-even-fathom-this-shit. Literally, there was Avatar Aang paraphernalia everywhere--banners, dolls, costumes, murals, street performers, plays, posters, songs, and cloud formations dedicated to, shaped like, or about Aang. Toph's memory of this was a little vague, but she knew that that was when strange things started happening between her and Sokka. It started with her learning that he and Suki were no more. Things went from there.

After the war, his father had given him his own boat, so every month, or whenever he had time to spare he sailed up to see her. Or she took three trains and two different ferries to visit him.

Her parents, who, until then, had thought that Toph would date no man, were overjoyed. Before the war they had tried to prep her for courting, for they could sense her stubborn and independent personality. They set up 'play dates' with Earth Kingdom boys about her age who were in the same social class as she was--rich, rich, and even richer than that. Toph hadn't known what she was supposed to do with these soul-less boys. Compare mansions? Befriend them somehow? Ultimately, she had ignored them, and they ignored her once they realized she had no interest in them. So when her parents found out that she had--_finally_--met a boy who she would actually date, they didn't care who it was. They figured the Water Tribe boy would be good practice for her until she found a wealthy Earth Kingdom man. What they didn't count on was that she would stay with the poor Water Tribe boy, and completely ignore all her other suitors.

Obviously that was problematic. The fact that Sokka was going to be chief of the Southern Water Tribe--which had bloomed into quite the cultural hub after the war--did nothing to sway them. He was not rich enough, not connected enough, and had no Earth Kingdom blood in him whatsoever.

After a few years of her and Sokka being together they laid down the law and did not let him visit her or communicate with her. You must date one of the men we have chosen for you, they had said.

After the screaming match, Toph packed up her things and left. She would have moved all the way to the South Pole then and there, but Sokka had urged her not to. Even though she had been there a few times up to that point, he knew that after several weeks of living in cold and snow and ice she would miss her earthy homelands. And he hadn't wanted her relationship with her parents to become more strained.

So she had settled in Emling. She got a job instructing almost before she had gotten there, and after a week she had over fifty students--some that even commuted to her by train every day. And soon she enrolled in the little university they had there, although she had had no idea what she wanted to learn at the time. At first she had studied a number of things--music, philosophy, math…But soon she discovered Botany and Horticulture, and dropped everything else. Toph had never thought of herself as smart, but when it came to plants she was practically a genius. Plants were in direct contact of the earth, and she had grown up sensing their presence and life all around her. She could tell when a patch of grass was dead, and could distinguish between trees by their roots and weight. It had become second nature to her, and she had never known that she could make anything out of it, or even that there was a science of plants. Now she spent almost all her free time in her garden.

Life after that had been simple and easy and good. She saw Sokka regularly, whether it being her visiting him or him visiting her. Simple, wonderful, and just a few notches less than perfect. That is, until the train wreck of life finally caught up to her sleeping soundly on its tracks.

* * *

"Good morrow, Toph!" a voice called from over her wall. Toph stood and wiped her forehead with the back of her gloved hand.

"Good morrow, Professor," she said with a smile.

"I have a letter for you," the elderly woman said and she opened the gate and walked into Toph's backyard.

"From?" Toph asked, even though there was only one person who ever wrote to her.

"Your beau, of course," the Professor said with a smile. "Would you like me to read it to you?"

"Of course. Would you like some juice first?"

The Professor nodded. "That would be nice, thanks."

"Come inside, it's hot out," Toph said, sliding open the door. The Professor stepped in and once again was amazed by Toph's abilities to live a normal life despite being blind. Her house was clean, there was food chilling in an ice box, a stocked larder, and even some artwork hanging on the wall.

"You have a new piece I see," she remarked.

"Over the mantle? Yes, I just hung it yesterday," Toph said as she poured two cups of juice.

"I like it…" the Professor said. "Excuse me for saying this, but how does a blind enjoy visual art?"

"It's textured," Toph said. She crossed the room to where the new painting was and ran her hand over it, letting her fingers feel the ridges and swoops and curves. "It's more of a sculpture than a painting, really. A flat slab of clay carved and molded, then painted over. Enjoyable to seeing and blind alike."

"Well I'll be. I wasn't aware they made art like this," the Professor said.

"You're a scientist, not an artist," Toph reasoned.

"True," the Professor said. She closed her eyes and ran her own hand over the painting. "I can't tell what it is this way, though."

"You learn to read it. Here's the little pond, some mountains in the distance, a flock of birds, clouds…But anyway, the letter?"

"Oh! Yes," the Professor said. She reached into the pocket of her robe and pulled out the little scroll. Toph sat down on a cushion and motioned for her to do so too. The Professor sat across from her student and cleared her throat. "Dear Toph," she began. "I hope things are going well for you in the Earth Kingdom. Things are going great down here. I got a new sword the other day. It cost a fortune because of the engraving on the blade. It says some poetic thing, the kind of stuff Aang likes. Anyway, I will be leaving the Southern Water Tribe shortly for a fishing trip. Hopefully I will arrive in the Earth Kingdom about the same time you receive this letter, so expect a visit from me soon. Much love, Sokka."

Toph smiled. "Sokka's coming for a visit?"

The Professor smiled. "Would you like me to write him? He also included a note so that I could reach him."

"Oh, yeah that'd be great."

The Professor grabbed some paper and a pen and wrote as Toph dictated.

"Dear Sokka. It's good to hear that things have been great. My eucharis grandiflora lilies are going to bloom soon. You will have to show me your new sword when you get here. I can't wait to see you! Feel free to stop by any time, I am not too busy these next few weeks. Love Toph. Oh, and a new restaurant opened up in town. They specialize in meat dishes from the northern Earth Kingdom. I'm sure you will love it."

The Professor rolled up the scroll and tied it with some string. "You must show me your new lilies, I just love that variety. How are the genetic experiments coming with those carrots, by the way?"

"Oh, they're great! When that rainstorm hit, several of them died, but a few managed to survive. I'm going to grow a new crop from them and see if they'll be resistant to different types of mold."

"My my! You are quite the botanist, Toph. And how are the earthbending classes going?"

"Well."

"That's very good news, Toph. My daughter is passing through here on her way to Ba Sing Se for her new job, so I must run. I'll send your letter when I pass the postal office."

"Thank you Professor," Toph said as the Professor slid open the door and left. Once the house was completely still and silent, Toph jumped up and started cleaning. She swept out all the bedrooms and the hallway, scrubbed the windows, and washed all the furniture until it was late into the night.


	3. Chapter Two: Demmi

CHAPTER TWO: Demmi

The day broke, grey and overcast, yet with a soft lining of warmth. Sokka woke happily--he was in the _Earth Kingdom _to see the prettiest and sassiest earthbender ever_--_dressed, and went downstairs to pay the night's boarding fees at the inn.

"Do I have any mail?" Sokka asked the lady at the front desk.

"Name?"

"Sokka."

"Would that be from inside or outside the Earth Kingdom?"

"Inside."

The inn keeper shuffled through a stack of mail on her desk until she found one with his name on it. Sokka thanked her and walked outside. The Fish Cracker Inn sat atop a sea cliff, right in the heart of a fishing village on the Earth Kingdom coast. On his travels, he often stayed there. Slowly, he made his way down the switchbacks to the harbor where his boat rocked slowly in the ocean. Sailors, merchants, and townspeople filled the streets, crowding around vessels or market kiosks. Sokka pushed his way though and climbed onto his ship. He settled down and opened the letter.

* * *

The arena where she taught was a large, rectangular courtyard surrounded by high walls to 'protect the public from stray projectiles' as her boss, Master Zu, put it--being a fan of alliteration. It had a hard-packed floor, several pots filled with smooth clay, and against the walls were age-old trellises, overgrown with ivy and shrubs. Towards the shadowy back corner, wild grass grew out of the rarely-treaded earth.

Toph always arrived early to walk around the arena. It felt like home, in a way. The solitary stretch of ground, silent and cold, yet alive and waiting for dozens of little feet to stampede upon it. It was like a sleeping giant, anticipating the end of its short slumber.

Toph grabbed her uniform off the peg near the door--a simple frock advertising the company's logo. She'd have to ask Master Zu for some time off. Just as she was tying back her hair, the first students arrived.

"Good morning Sifu Toph!" they called to her.

"Good morning kids," she said. Her first class was an hour long 'Intro to Earthbending' lesson for kids under the age of eight. There were only ten kids, and the youngest was four.

Toph smiled to herself as she remembered when Master Zu told her she would be working with little kids. At first she had hated the idea of looking after some little brats, but now she had come to love them more than her other class filled with adolescents closer to her age.

"What are we doing today, Sifu Toph?" one of her students asked.

"Today?" Toph said, suddenly remembering that she hadn't put together a lesson plan for the week; too busy thinking about Sokka. "Pop quiz," she improvised.

"What's that?" another student asked.

"You little munchkins don't know what a pop quiz is?" the earthbender said with a laugh. "It's a test that you didn't expect to take place."

"Is it going to be difficult?"

Toph shook her head. "You think I'd try to sabotage you guys? Never. Now line up so I can explain the rules."

While her students got into their row positions, Toph quickly put together the premise of the pop quiz.

"Okay, first is a knowledge test," she said, folding her hands across her chest. _A knowledge test? I've been talking to Twinkles too much._ "Which bodily sense should be an earthbender's strongest?"

"Touch!" came a shambolic reply. Toph smiled in spite of herself.

"Good. Now onto a skill test." On cue, ten small walls of stone rose from the earth at the far edge of the arena. With a sleight of her hand, ring-shaped depressions formed a bull's-eye on each one. "Try to hit the center of the target."

Toph watched as three of her older students lifted up rocks and sent them towards their wall. Two of them hit it, but not very well. The targets were too far away. Almost simultaneously, the three older pupils began to whine, while six of the younger ones tried their best to hit the targets. There was only one student left--the four year old, Demmi--a Fire Nation immigrant and probably the most promising of all her students, including the older class. All eyes were on the little boy as he stood there, a contemplative expression on his face.

"Try to hit the center of the target," Toph said quietly, but she already knew what the boy was about to do before he did it. Demmi sprinted across the arena, pulled up a small rock, and sent it towards the remaining wall. It hit the center of the target perfectly, and bounced off onto the floor meekly.

The other students erupted into an angry frenzy. "He cheated! He cheated!" they shouted as the little boy walked back towards them.

"Hey! Calm down. He didn't cheat. My only instruction was to hit the center of the target. I never said how or from what distance," Toph said. She could feel Demmi smiling proudly as the other students called for a re-do.

* * *

"'Bye kids, don't forget to practice at home in front of mom and dad!" Toph called as her students ran out the door. Demmi hung back as he took off his student uniform.

"Sifu Toph? Did I do it wrong?"

"What? No. You were the cleverest one today," Toph said.

"But everyone else yelled at me."

She scoffed. "Only because they're jealous," Toph said as she walked over to him.

"Yeah, but a good earthbender would've been able to hit the target from really far away," Demmi said.

Toph bent low and rumpled the boy's hair. "A good earthbender is someone who knows their limits and how to be successful at the level they are at. Not someone who tries something way out of their league that they'll fail at."

Demmi nodded and thought a moment. "Is that what you would have done?"

"If I knew I could hit the target, but only if I was a little closer, I would do everything I could to get there so I could hit the target."

"Is that what you did in the war?" the boy asked; his question so random it gave Toph a jolt.

"What?"

"Is that what you did in the war?"

_What kid asks about war stuff?_

"Demmi, I shouldn't be telling you about personal experiences. It's unbecoming of a teacher," she said. 'Unbecoming' was a term her mother used all the time, and it pissed her off to no end, but Toph loved to use it in every-day conversation.

"But I want to know what it's like to be a soldier," Demmi said.

"That's something you should talk to your mum and daddy about."

Demmi nodded, and Toph felt a sadness from him. He was an extremely intuitive child, she knew that. Part of her wished he'd focus his energy on school--he was already smarter than people twice his age--and leave soldiering to people who weren't that smart. Like her, for instance.

* * *

The sun was starting to go down when Toph finally got off work. Quickly pulling off her uniform, she ran to Master Zu's office.

Master Zu was a tall, slim man, who was very old and a very good earthbender. He taught classes to adults, and they were very expensive--by Emling standards.

"Hello Master Zu," Toph said after she was ushered inside his office. The air was filled with the smoke of incense and the thick scent of brewing tea. She loved that smell.

"Good day, Master Toph."

"Um…I was wondering if I could get a few days off?"

The man nodded. "It has been a while since you had a vacation."

"Is that a yes?" Toph asked quickly. Master Zu sighed and nodded.

"After tomorrow you may have a week off."

"Thank you so much Master Zu!" Toph exclaimed. She bowed to the man before walking outside. There she broke into a sprint to the postal office, all the way on the other side of town. When she burst into the room she was gasping for air.

"Good day, Miss," the lady behind the counter said cheerfully.

"Yeah, hi, um, I'm expecting a letter from inside the Earth Kingdom."

"Name?"

"Toph."

The woman rifled through the mail. Toph bounced on her feet a little as she waited for the letter.

"I'm sorry, there's no letter for you here."

"What?"

"It must not have come in yet. Perhaps tomorrow?" the woman said hopefully.

"Oh. Yeah, okay. Thanks anyway," Toph said. She walked outside and started towards her apartment. Sokka hadn't replied yet. Was he busy? Of course not, what business did he have in the Earth Kingdom? He didn't know anyone here except for her. Maybe her letter hadn't gone through…

"Don't start thinking paranoid," Toph said to herself. But it was inevitable--as she ambled down the street, thoughts filled her head. Was he hurt? Did his ship crash into something? Did some brute mug him on the streets?

Sullenly, she walked to the market to buy dinner. Maybe food would take her mind off things. Besides, it was stupid to worry. The jostling crowd, shouted advertisements from entrepreneurs, and the barrage of conflicting smells and sounds was oddly comforting to her.

"Cured meat! Cured meat, straight from the northern plains! Cattle fat as a house!" "Hand woven smocks for all weather!" "Fresh-picked flowers will brighten up your evening with your sweetheart! Nothing says 'I love you' like a dozen roses and carnations!" "Silver and gold jewelry! Wrought by Fire Nation metal-working masters!" "Imported goods!" "All the way from the North Pole, folks! You can't get this anywhere but here and there!" Toph smiled. Salesmen could make _anything_ sound worthy of your hard-earned coins.

The blind earthbender made her way over to her favorite vegetable stall. The elderly lady who ran it was full of interesting stories.

"Good evening, Toph."

"Good evening, Hannia. What'cha got today?"

"Well," Hannia said, bending low and pulling up a small basket. "I just got some beautiful autumn gourds."

"Gourds?" Toph said, reaching out to feel the warty surface of the fruit in the basket. She hadn't known gourds grew this early in the season.

"Yes. They're very delicious this time of year. You can bake them in a pie, even."

"I'm not lookin' for anything fancy, now. Just a simple dinner for one," Toph sighed.

"How about cabbage soup?"

"Sure," Toph said, taking the leathery head of cabbage, which she wasn't too fond of. She gave Hannia a few coins and held the vegetable close to her chest; protecting against thieves.

As she walked the rest of the way home, the troubled thoughts of Sokka were overpowered by her strange conversation with Demmi. _"I want to know what it was like to be a soldier." _Toph shivered; this boy wasn't even alive during the war, why did he want to know what it was like?


	4. Chapter Three: Alien

So, I'm sure you are all wondering what the actual plot of this story is. It will reveal itself as time goes on, I really don't want to give away all the surprises. If you are just _dying_ to know, PM me and I'll give you some more information. Or, if you like the suspense, wait it out until further chapters.

* * *

CHAPTER THREE: Alien

Her keys jangled as Toph pushed open the door to her house. It was a small abode, with just a kitchen, living room, bathroom, bedroom, and a spare room in a loft above. Toph never went up there. She had made it out of a war unscathed and was still afraid of heights.

In the kitchen she put the cabbage on the counter and took out a knife. Underneath the stove burner, she lit a fire to bring a pot of water to boil. When she first moved out of her house, she had been frightened only at the thought of cooking. Sure, she could prepare maybe a few things, but wielding a knife? Or building a fire? The task had been daunting at first, and for several weeks Toph had survived on raw vegetables, with the occasional brochette of cooked meat from the market. When the Professor noticed Toph's sudden gauntness, she immediately gave her a cooking lesson.

Maybe she wasn't a culinary master yet, but she could cook well enough to remain nourished.

It was right after Toph dunked the cabbage into the water that she heard the noise. A soft thump; like something falling over.

Her first thought was her cat Koi--a mangy little monster she found living underneath the house. She couldn't get him to leave, so in the end he stayed, floating through the house whenever the mood came about. He was renown to knock things off of counters, as gravity was a teacher he had developed quite a crush on.

"Koi, you little brat, what did you knock over?" Toph called out, walking down the hall towards the bathroom. There she paused, remembering that he had last been outside, and there was no way for him to get in while she was away at work. Slowly, Toph placed her hand on the wall and felt about her house. The flooring of the loft was wood, but she could definitely feel something up there.

_Okay..._she thought to herself. There were two ways to handle this situation. Well, three, but she'd be damned if she went and got the police officer who lived down the street. One way would be to use earthbending and fuck up her house. The other way involved a kitchen knife.

Toph wiped the cabbage juice off onto a towel by the sink and silently crept back down the hallway. Her feet gripped the wooden rungs as she nimbly ascended the ladder. There were nine before the platform; Toph counted them slowly as she climbed. Reaching the top, she pulled herself out halfway and placed her hand with the knife on the rough wooden floor.

"I already know there's someone up here. If you think you can steal from me you're wrong. Just come out now and I won't have to contact the authorities," Toph said, holding the knife up in the air.

Something shuffled in the corner of the room, and the intruder whispered a reply. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to climb ladders with knives?"

The voice was unmistakable. "What the--? Sokka, is that you?"

"Damn it."

Toph smacked the knife down on the floor and put her hand on her hip. "Sokka, you idiot!"

"What?" he said with a laugh as he unearthed himself from the clutter in the loft.

"I was going to stab you!"

Sokka scoffed. "You wouldn't stab a fly."

"That doesn't even make sense."

"It doesn't need to."

Toph sighed and held her arms to him. "Come here," she said softly. Sokka scooted closer to her and leaned foreword. Toph smiled at him sweetly, then balled a fist and punched him, hard, on the arm.

"Ow! What the hell?"

"That's for breaking into my house!" Toph snapped.

"That hurt! How would you feel if _I_ punched you?"

Toph laughed and shoved him over. "You couldn't even punch a fly."

* * *

"Okay, okay, okay! You don't need to tear my arm off!"

"Hurry up, I'm starving," Sokka said, throwing his head back to inhale the smell of barbeque. "Mmm, I can smell the meat!"

"It's not going anywhere, settle down," Toph sighed, but he didn't slow until they reached the restaurant.

Sokka plopped himself down on one of the outdoor seating tables and ordered immediately. Toph drummed her fingers on the table as her boyfriend stuffed his face with food.

"Are you still mad at me?" he asked, mouth full.

Toph merely shrugged. She didn't want to make a big deal out of it, but she had been pretty worried.

Sokka chased down a mouthful of meat with some wine. "I just wanted to surprise you."

"By breaking into my house?"

The Water Tribe boy grabbed another slab of meat and tore off a long slice, ignoring the fork and knife for his teeth. A few people at neighboring tables looked at him. Sokka glanced at them, and his marinade-stained lips stretched into a smile. "This is how we eat in the South Pole," he said proudly. A few of the people nodded and looked at their friends like he was crazy. Toph clamped her eyes shut in embarrassment.

"So what were we talking about?" Sokka asked absently.

"You not sending me a letter today," she replied.

"Oh yeah," he said with a slight nod. "What's with all these letters, anyway? Why do we have to send so many?"

"It's just how we always do it. You write me a letter saying you're coming for a visit, I reply to tell you if I'm available, and then you write me back again. I was getting worried about you."

Sokka's eyes grew wide and innocent as he spoke in his baby-voice. "Awww, was wittle Tophy wowwied about Sokka?" he cooed, reaching out and ruffling her hair like he was her big brother.

Despite herself, Toph laughed. "That's not funny," she said as she fixed her hair.

"Okay, okay, okay. I'm sorry I didn't write to you today," Sokka said. "Will you forgive me?"

Toph sighed a little, but nodded. "You're here now, I can't complain."

"Good," Sokka said, leaning across the table to kiss her. "Come on, let's go." He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. Toph suppressed a giggle as Sokka wheeled her out of the restaurant. At the front, they paused to pay, then quickly ran out into the streets.

* * *

It was well into the evening when they reached Midtown, where all the 'night life' (which usually amounted to a bunch of old people dancing in a barn) happened.

Tonight, though, the town was rife with lame ex-circus performers hoping to utilize their skills to make a quick buck.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" a street caller shouted from his perch atop a few old boxes next to a square stall with a curtain tossed over it. "Is there life out there? Are we the only ones? What you once thought to be bedtime stories is now a _gross_ _reality_. There is no danger: the monster is quite dead now. Behold alien life, right before your very eyes for one silver piece!"

"What a fraud," Toph said, folding her arms and frowning quizzically towards the man.

"What do you mean? It might be true. There might be _aliens_in there!" Sokka shouted jokingly.

"Yeah right. Show me an alien and I'll show you Zuko not angst-y."

"That's true. But we should still see it."

"_See_ it?"

"Well, be in the general vicinity of it."

Toph sighed and shook her head. "I'm not wasting my hard-earned money on some dumb, mutated eggplant or something."

"Fine then, we'll waste _my_ hard-earned money on some dumb, mutated eggplant. Or something."

Toph was going to object more, but Sokka was already reaching around in his pocket for some spare change. She let herself be tugged towards the street caller by her spectacle of a boyfriend.

"Ooh! Ooh! We wanna see the alien!"

"It looks like this young couple would like to take a gander at the alien!" the man shouted jollily at the waning crowd around him. "Would you two youngsters be willing to tell the public about the sight you're about to behold?"

Toph rolled her eyes as Sokka nodded happily.

"Okay, go right on in!" he said, holding out his hand for the money. Toph couldn't help herself as she held her breath when they walked in. She waited for Sokka to tell her what it was, but he only stood there, gaping.

"Well? What is it?"

"No _way_! That's so nasty!" Sokka said in amazement, going up to the thing, which sat on a pedestal in the middle of the room.

"Sokka! What is it?" Toph asked nervously. She reached out towards the thing, but her fingers only met the glass wall of a large jar.

"It's…it's…well, here," Sokka said. Before she could object he seized her hand. Toph emitted a stifled scream as her hand was submerged in tepid water. After a split second of panic, she realized Sokka was guiding her hand towards the thing in the jar. Her fingertips brushed something smooth and slippery.

"What the _fuck_ is that?" she hissed. Her palm pressed down on what she had just touched, and found it quite bulbous; but with a little pressure it gave. It was something sturdy but slightly malleable, like the body of a fungus. Her face twisted in horror and disgust as she continued to feel the creature. Several lumpish formations had sprouted off the main orb, and whatever was beyond that would remain a mystery as her arm could go no further down into the jar without knocking it over.

"I don't know. It looks like a baby or something."

"What, like a _fetus_?" she said in horror, pulling her arm out of the water quickly.

"I don't know. But it sure looks like a fetus of some kind. Maybe it is an alien creature," Sokka whispered in wonderment.

"Yeah right. This was someone's baby! What kind of sick twist would do that?"

"Beats me."

Toph turned and marched angrily out of the stall.

"Wait, where are you going?" Sokka called after her, uneasy with the thought of being alone with the thing. But Toph ignored him as she went up to the street caller, who was still trying to lure people to see the alien monster.

"Hey! You! Yeah you, you fat bastard!" Toph shouted at him. The street caller and several other people out in the streets turned to look at her. "What the crap is that thing? Did you steal that thing from some poor mother?"

"What?" the street caller said with a nervous laugh. "I stole that from no one. That alien is my rightful property," he said assuringly, then turned back to the passers-by. "But I'm willing to share it with anyone willing to pay a silver piece! This alien wasn't easy to capture!"

"That's no alien! That's someone's baby! It's just some dumb fetus," Toph shouted at him. By now Sokka had left the stall and was nudging Toph to leave the man alone. "You're a freak if you steal people's children!"

"Please Miss, you're disturbing the peace here, I would appreciate it if you just moved along now," the street caller said to her quietly.

"I hope you're happy with yourself," she snapped. As Sokka started pushing her away from the scene, she did one of the most offensive things she could think of: turning her head to the side and spitting, as if to ward off a curse. The street caller and several nearby pedestrians gaped at her.

"Holy shit Toph, way to freak out!" Sokka whispered to her under his breath.

"You saw it too. That man should rot in jail."

"So what if it was a baby? It probably wasn't even a human baby."

"What? How can you say that?" Toph said, stopping in her tracks. "It was something live and tangible, and now it's turning into mush in a jar for the entertainment of the masses!"

"Okay, okay," Sokka sighed. "I didn't mean it like that," he said. He stared at her for a long moment, but Toph stayed where she was. "Look, it's really late. Let's just go back and get some sleep, okay? You have to work tomorrow anyway, right?"

Toph nodded and lowered her head. "Yeah, I do. I think that's a good idea," she said shakily. Sokka took her hand and started walking back towards her house, and while he wasn't looking she whisked away a solitary tear that had started to slip down her face.

* * *

Sorry to end on a slightly melancholic note.


End file.
